History of Aldegar
Aldegar is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with urban settlements dating back from at least 4000 BCE. Once a major empire of superpower proportions, Aldegar carried a major impact on the histories and cultures of the entire continent of Seleya. Aldegr has continually reasserted its national identity throughout the centuries and has developed as a distinct political and cultural entity. Early History It is not clear where the ancestors of today's Aldegarians came from, and it is possible that they were the first human inhabitants of the region. By the 1st millennium BCE, there is evidence of social and political stratification, with the emergence of the first organized kingdoms and city-states. Writing is first attested in the 9th century, with the partially deciphered Aldegarian cuneiforms. Kemokian Empire (699-465 BCE) One of the numerous small Shahdoms in the 8th century was the Shahdom of Kemoku. It was in this region that one of the most significant events in Terran religious history took place. Around 710 BCE, a young shepherd named Shapur claimed to have received revelation from the god Yazdān, according to which there is only one god of the light, in a never-ending battle with the evil spirit, and that humanity plays a central role in this battle. The young prophet found his protector in the person of Kurosh Shah, the king of Kemoku. Following the sudden death of Shapur, presumably murdered by the traditional priestly class of Kemoku, Kurosh used the new religion of Yazdism as an ideological basis for his emerging empire. Motivated by the new faith, the Kemokian empire extended, through force and diplomacy, over a much of the continent of Seleya. By the time Kurosh died in 665 BCE, his empire more than doubled in size. His successors extended Kemokian rule over all of today's Saridan, Gaduridos, and Tukarali, and parts of Valruzia, Baltusia, and Mordusia. Fall of the Empire Starting with 574 BCE, the Kemokian Empire was engaged in almost constant warfare with the Proto-Canrillais (Selucian) and Proto-Mordusian (Dundorfian) tribes to the south. A newly emerged tribal confederation, the Varigosian Kingdom, became the arch-enemy of the Empire, especially after having soundly defeated Kemoku at the Battle of Vafatshahr (513 BCE). Following a period of instability, characterized by wars of succession, weak emperors, rebellions, and usurpers, in 467 BCE a strong Shah was able to put down all rebels and brought all Satraps back under the governments control. His name was Mehrdad Shahriar. He was a mercenary of Ikpi descent that had worked and plotted his way to the heights of power. With the situations stabilized throughout the Empire Mehrdad Shahriar decided to invade the Vargosian kingdom. As Mehrdad's armies advanced through hostile territory, constantly harassed by enemy forces, the Varigosians were conducting a scorched-earth campaign, denying Kemoku an open battle. Having achieved none of his initial objectives, Mehrdad decided to withdraw his forces from Varigosian territory. On his way back, his weakened and diminished armies were caught in an ambush near the town of Euphanea in modern Mordusia, and were soundly defeated. Legend says the Varigosian king slew Mehrdad personally. ]] After the death of Mehrdad and with no clear successor to the throne, the empire was once again plunged in civil war. Taking advantage of this, the Varigosians conquered the Aldegarian homeland, while the empire's border regions became independent. In 465 BCE, the Kemokian Empire was destroyed, survived only in the islands of Somasi and Surtilati by the Somasian Shahdom, ruled by a cognate branch of the Cyrian Dynasty. Varigosian Kingdom (465-322 BCE) As the Varigosians conquered the Kemokian Empire, their king, Friedhelm I, took on the title of King of Kings, claiming continuity with the empire he conquered. The new Varigosian Shahdom did not attempt to impose its customs and language on the conquered Aldegarians, instead leaving local government to continue largely as it had been during Kemokian rule. Although the Varigosians attempted to regain the former territories of the Kemokian Empire, their rule was limited to the Aldegarian homeland. The Varigosian Kingdom was to last until its overthrow following a rebellion of local nobles in 322 BCE. Phraatid Dynasty (322-BCE-263 CE) Due to the descentralized organization of the Varigosian Kingdom, the old Kemokian nobility was largely left intact. One local noble, Bahram, grandson of Farhād (Phraates), after killing his brothers, demanded the allegiance of the neighbouring nobles, and proclaimed himself Shahanshah. With his seat of power in the newly built fortress of Timārestān in Amuro, the expanding power of the Phraatids was not unnoticed by the Varigosian King Wendelin. Initially, Wendelin ordered the Satrap of Hikirena to wage war against Bahram in 325, but the battles were victories for Bahram. In a second attempt to destroy Bahram, Wendelin himself met Bahran in battle at Lājvardi, where Wendelin met his death. Following the death of the Varigosian ruler, Bahram I went on to invade the southern provinces of the now defunct Varigosian Kingdom. statue in Lājvardi]] The new Phraatid Empire went on to reestablish Aldegarian rule over central Seleya, reconquering Tukarali to the North, and attempting to reassert Aldegarian control over Saridan and Gaduridos. Although the Phraatids did not reach the territorial extent of the Kemokian Empire, their rule was one of the most peaceful and prosperous in the history of Aldegar. The Phraatid era is also notable for its philosophical and religious developments; it was under Phraatid rule that Shahriar, the founder of Zamānism, and Bahram Bidar, the founder of Daenism, created and preached their new ideas, and both new religions often received royal patronage. Mu-Tze Khanate (263-719) The Mu-Tze tribes, originating from the Cubla tribes of Ananto, began a slow process of expansion throughout northern Seleya beginning with the first century. In 218, these tribes were unified by a strong Khan named Bat-Erdene, founding an empire that within just a few years would conquer much of the continent. In 241, Bat-Erdene sent a trade mission to the Phraatid Empire, but at the town of Sāhebnazar the governor, suspecting the Khan's ambassadors to be spies, confiscated their goods and executed them. Bat-Erdene demanded reparations, which the Shah Khodadad refused to pay. Bat-Erdene retaliated with a force of 200,000 men, launching a multi-pronged invasion. In 242 the Mu-Tze army began the invasion of Aldegar. The Mu-Tze stormed Sāhebnazar, Lājvardi and the Phraatid capital Timārestān. The Shah fled and died some weeks later on Somasi. The son of Khodadad, Daryush, became the new Shah. He attempted to flee to Saridan, but the Mu-Tze caught up with him before he got there, and he was defeated at the Battle of Kasād. He escaped and he gathered an army and re-established a kingdom. He never consolidated his power, however, spending the rest of his days struggling against the Mu-Tze and pretenders to his own throne. He was eventually defeated in 263, bringing about the end of the Phraatid Dynasty and the conquest of Aldegar. Rostamid Dynasty (674-1512) Mu-Tze rule was characterized by a significant level of decentralization. The Khan would often reward local landowners with provinces and titles as a reward for their loyalty. One such landowner was the Hikirenian Rostam, who in 674 was rewarded the towns of Pākize and Tamaddon for putting down a revolt. The domains of Rostam grew significantly under the rule of his descendents, leading to the birth of a new dynasty. When the Mu-Tze Khanate collapsed in 719, the Rostamids already controlled most of Aldegar. The Rostamid Shahdom saw a revival of Aldegarian culture and further expansion of Aldegar's rule. In 912 Hosianism was introduced by the Badaran Saint ʻAlāʼ ad-Dīn of al-Buqiyya, and in 924 it was officially adopted by the Rostamid court under Shah Zartosht. Through Hosianism came heavy Majatran and Cildanian cultural influence, and the Aldegarian language was heavily influenced by Majatran. The Aldegarian alphabet was also born in this period, derived from the Qedarite script from Cildania. Shahnazid Dynasty (1512-2042) The Rostamid Dynasty continued for nearly one thousand years, until it was overthrown in 1512 by Shahnaz Mirza Abbas, a Yazdean general of modest Mu-Tze origins. Shahnaz's coup was a reaction against the perceived foreign character of the Hosian religion promoted by the Rostamids. Following the coronation of Shahnaz as the new Shahanshah, Yazdism was restored as the official religion of the Shahdom, and the first years of the dynasty were characterized by the persecution of Hosianism and an aggressive foreign policy. In 1893 Shahnazid Aldegar became a constitutional monarchy following a rebellion, and the monarchy itself was abolished in 2042, with the founding of the First Republic of Aldegar. First Republic of Aldegar (2042-2535) Aldegarian Empire of the One (2535-2615) List of Padishahs *Malachi Camara (2535-2585) *Darius Camara (2589-2593) *Adrian Nastif (2597-2615) Second Republic of Aldegar By the early 2700's, however, a new era was ushered in with the formation of the National Populist Party by a 20 year old young man named Joshua Snyder. At the time of the NPP's creation in 2720, Aldegar was, for the most part split between the far right wing, semi-dictatorial National Party and the far left, pacifist Green Party of Aldegar. The National Populist Party was founded on a more moderate, but still distinctively right wing political platform but more of a left-leaning economic platform. The National Party held an obvious majority of the nation, but by 2730, the leadership of the party divided and the entire party ceased to exist almost over night. In the void that followed, the Berosian Party, Traditionalist Party, and the National Populist Party gained ground, with the Berosian Party holding the majority of the nation. The Green Party of Aldegar had the perfect chance to become the head of the nation with the National Party's fall, but due to an increasingly right wing Aldegar, as well as the formation of the People's Self-Defense and the New Whig Party as strong moderate contenders, the party began to lose ground. Another 10 years passed with steady growth by the National Populist Party. Joshua Snyder kept his party greatly organized. This would prove to be essential in projecting the NPP to power. By 2740, the Berosian and the Traditionalist Parties fell apart, with the majority of their followers creating the Christian Democracy Party. This new party would command a vast following in Aldegar, but only for 5 years. In 2745, Joshua Snyder was finally elected as President of Aldegar, and 3 years later in 2748, he oversaw the appointment of loyal members of his party as Premier, head of Foreign and Internal Affairs, as well as the head of the Ministry of Defense. Joshua Snyder and the National Populist Party became the most powerful machine in Aldegar since the old monarchy. In the same year, President Snyder successfully changed the national animal to the Aldegarian Eagle, which lead the way to Aldegar adopting the National Populist Party's flag and motto in 2752. That year, with the dissolution of the Christian Democracy Party and the weakening of the Green Party of Aldegar, the National Populist Party had enough power to control all legislation and usher in any law, save for constitutional amendments, that it wanted. And it did. The only parties that could even begin to stand in it's way were the People's Party for Progress and Justice (The successor party to the People's Self-Defense), and the New Whig Party, and even those two parties together couldn't stop the NPP from voting in their laws. In 2755, however, the battle for dominance of the government was turning to the favor of the rest of the parties. Two new leftist parties, the Aldegarian People's Party and the militant communist All Aldegar Worker's Unity Front were formed, and after making alliances with the Green Party and the People's Justice Party of Aldegar (The People's Party for Progress and Justice), they took the majority of the votes from the National Populists. Not even the National Populists' close partnership with the New Whig Party could give them the majority to prevent a slow turn back towards a leftist government, but it never stopped the NPP founder Joshua Snyder from being elected to his 5th term in 2757 by the people. 5 years later, however, in 2760 the disorganization that had been plaguing the leftist parties in Aldegar for decades had proven once again to favor the National Populists, and the two new parties, the Aldegarian People's Party and the All Aldegar Worker's Unity Front began to loose their voices. Slowly but surely, the National Populists began to reenact the laws that the leftists had done away with in the past 5 years. Third Nation of Aldegar (3047-3059) Padishah *Röstäm Manu (3047-3059) Third and Fourth Republic of Aldegar (3059-3572) Savaranid Kingdom of Aldegar (3572-3603) Fifth Republic and Aldegarian Empire (3603-3714) Duchy of Phoenix (3714-3746) Rowshani Theocracy (3746-3763) Sixth Republic (3763-present) Overview of governments